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Who was St Chad?
Windows from the original church building - now installed in the chapel
Rose Window
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The Anglican
Parish of
St Chad's Chelsea |
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History
( NOTE: The following is temporary information pending a summary of the our history.)
( NOTE: The following is temporary information pending a summary of the our history.)
From 2001 stewardship programme brochure
Letting Vision Become Reality…The Past…
The history of the Church
of St. Chad began early in 1901 when some folk with true faith set
to work to establish a place of worship for the Anglican people
living in this new (then) district. With the growth of Chelsea, St.
Chad's emerged, the first services being held in the Hart family
bakehouse, then in the hall known as Hoadley's or the "joss house."
The first church was dedicated on Sunday, 4th August, 1914, by Archbishop Lowther Clarke. The construction of the vicarage, still a very adequate building, took place in 1920 and in 1922 a Parish Hall was built as a result of the efforts of a strong Ladies' Guild and substantial donations from two parish families. Tragically this saw the end of progress for many years until in 1953 plans were made to erect a church worthy of the City of Chelsea. This was commenced with the erection of the new chancel and vestry. In 1965 work on the church building was finally completed, albeit not the original unpainted brick English style building originally planned!
During the mid 1960s the Church membership exploded, with a huge Sunday School enrolment and a wide variety of church clubs and organisations. However the early to mid 70s unfortunately saw a steep decline in involvement at all levels. The decline was arrested in the late 70s with steady growth since.
The Present…The first church was dedicated on Sunday, 4th August, 1914, by Archbishop Lowther Clarke. The construction of the vicarage, still a very adequate building, took place in 1920 and in 1922 a Parish Hall was built as a result of the efforts of a strong Ladies' Guild and substantial donations from two parish families. Tragically this saw the end of progress for many years until in 1953 plans were made to erect a church worthy of the City of Chelsea. This was commenced with the erection of the new chancel and vestry. In 1965 work on the church building was finally completed, albeit not the original unpainted brick English style building originally planned!
During the mid 1960s the Church membership exploded, with a huge Sunday School enrolment and a wide variety of church clubs and organisations. However the early to mid 70s unfortunately saw a steep decline in involvement at all levels. The decline was arrested in the late 70s with steady growth since.
Apart from the establishment
of the Church of St Hilda at Bonbeach a hiatus occurred in
major building works at St Chad’s (excepting major vicarage renovations) until 1999 when the small hall, kitchen, tennis pavilion and outside toilets were demolished to make way for the St Chad & St Hilda’s Parish Centre and car parking.